Werewolf in Ylisse
by TheOneWhoNeverWas
Summary: One light was all it took for his world to disappear. Gone was his home, replaced by the strange lands of Ylisse.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I'll just let you read, but I've got something to ask of you at the end.**

 **Disclaimer : I do not own Fire Emblem**

* * *

It was all that damn light's fault he was stuck here.

In a different world somehow, that he was sure of. In some world that didn't even feel the same as the one he used to live in. In the other world, yes there was magic, but there was so little of it that you had to concentrate heavily just in order to feel the mystical powers. That is, unless you were more sensitive to magic, but even then it was most likely difficult. But here? You practically smell the dormant power in the air. And he wasn't even trying!

It was as worrying as it was intoxicating for him.

Padding away from the body of water that contained the island where he came from, and from where that stupid light dropped him off at, he began to think of how he got here in the first place. Wherever 'here' was.

It was a perfect night. The wind was blowing softly, carrying the scent of the healthy forest he was running in. A full moon hanging in a star filled, cloudless sky. And aside from the slight noises he made while running, from the occasional twig crunching underneath his weight to the calls of nocturnal animals, it was wonderfully silent.

The day's hunt had been successful; a tasty male bear who thought it was smart to invade his territory, along with several other small beasties he managed to catch. Aside from the unpleasant reminder that winter was fast approaching, with migratory birds flying above his head, it was a normal day for him. And he spent a majority of it lazing around in the sun.

But then came night, and with it came an unfamiliar feeling that kept him from falling asleep. Exiting from his den the feeling insisted he begin moving in a single direction. Oddly enough he began running without a second thought. At the time he must have thought it was his instinct telling him something was wrong and he should investigate it.

And he'd thought 'why not?'

And so he ran, weaving in and out of trees, jumping over large roots and other obstacles in his way, heading in the direction his 'instincts' were telling him to go to. Eventually after some time he broke into a clearing. Yet he still couldn't see anything that required his attention. Well, aside from the perfect view that the cliff at the end of the clearing was giving him.

Then it appeared.

The damn light that no doubt changed his life forever.

It appeared as the size of a small dot, no bigger than the stars that shined in the night skies. Suddenly that small dot grew in size and brightness, nearly blinding him with it's intensity. After giving his eyes time adjust to it, he looked at it once again, squinting his amber coloured eyes against a brightness that rivalled the sun's.

'Jump,' the unfamiliar feeling told him.

He had resisted at first, suddenly doubtful of the urge that had been leading him to the strange light. But it lured him in, gently coaxing with silent whispers and wordless promises of safety. That, piled with his growing curiosity, lead to him approaching the light. Then without a second thought he jumped, taking the leap of faith into the unknown. His eyes were filled with so much light to the point that he was sure that he'd lose his eyesight if he hadn't closed them.

He landed quicker than expected. As if there was solid ground behind the bright light. Cracking open his eyes just enough to see what was in front of him, he saw there was —as he guessed— more light.

'Run,' the feeling urged again.

He looked back in the direction he came from, his perfect home. There was a sudden feeling that he should just return to his comfortable home and forget this ever happened. To just leap back out and never look back.

'Run.'

But… 'Maybe just a quick look.'

With his actions planned out, he turned the other way and continued running, the feeling guiding him through the endless light. Within a few moments he came across something unexpected; someone who actually lived in the odd world. The sight of him must have been unexpected to the old man, who had until then been staring intently at something in his wrinkled hands, since he gave a yelp of surprise and flung whatever he was holding into the air. He didn't hear the old man cursing in the distance as his cards disappeared.

Feeling his destination fast approaching, he picked up the speed, eager to find out what it was then return to his home. The world of light ended somewhere in the distance, showing the image of a world that looked very much like his own. With another leap he exited the portal and landed on some small island. He glanced around quickly, sniffing the air for any nearby threats.

Debating whether to stay and investigate longer or to just head back, he came to the conclusion that it would be better to just return to his home. Turning to the light, he prepared to make the trek back… only to find it wasn't there anymore. Panic began rising in him as he looked about, frantically searching for it.

He didn't find it. It was gone.

He was stuck. In a world alien to him. Grief and anger welled up inside as he came to that realization. Never again would he go back home. With nothing to shred apart in order to vent his emotions, he looked up into the sky. Hanging there in the sky was the only constant between his world and this new one: the moon, just as beautiful as it was when he last saw it. Staring up at it, he released his emotions in the only way he could at that moment.

And so he howled. A mournful sound that echoed throughout the lands of Ylisse.

* * *

The Werewolf in Ylisse

* * *

Breaking out of his reminiscing, he continued along his path. What's done is done. Nothing he could do about it anymore. The best he could do now would be to find a new home in this new word he was trapped in.

But first things first, he was tired and wanted to sleep badly. As much as he enjoyed staring up at the moon he had to rest in order to regain the strength needed to face anything. The standards for the ideal spot were pretty low, just enough to shelter him from the weather and capable of hiding him from any hostile locals.

During his aimless wandering he spotted a few potential shelters. Tall wooden dens that appeared sturdy enough. There were also large beasties roaming nearby, slow things with their black and white patches absently eating the grass. They looked easy enough to kill, and he almost did so. But that was when his nose picked up something familiar, another thing from his world.

Humans.

He immediately started in another direction.

'Of all the things…'

He wasn't very fond of humans. They always chased him with their pointy weapons and fires on sticks, burning down his previous homes and forcing him to leave. Just because he'd eaten one or two of their feathered animals that laid eggs.

There were always a few that carried damn silver on them!

And they somehow managed to infest this world to.

With a huff he tried calming himself down. It wouldn't do to go on a rampage at that moment. Maybe after he slept. Then he would.

'I just hope there aren't any people that can use magic.' The last time he encountered people that could, they tried to kill him for something called "werewolf teeth."

That was an unpleasant experience to say the least.

But what ever heavenly powers up above, or perhaps down below really, merely took his plea, laughed, and continued on with their day.

When he looked up into to night sky he saw that he didn't have much time until the sun started rising. Faster. He needed to move faster.

He spotted a safe haven at last. A forest that was far enough from a human settlement —that seemed to have been recently attacked— for him to comfortably deem worthy enough to rest. He just about to enter the forest when the world underneath him shook violently. Flight or fight systems were activated and he desperately ran deeper into the forest, where several other animals were also awakened and were running around frantically. Birds took off from their nests and flew into the sky. It was utter chaos for the dwellers of the forest.

Then the ground split open and magma came bursting out, catching any nearby trees on fire. The smell of smoke filling the air was enough to make his sensitive nose hurt.

And just as suddenly as it arrived, the earth stopped. One moment there was total pandemonium, the next it was as if you just imagined everything. The only things remaining was the forest fire and that strange light a short distance away.

'Eh?'

Strange light? Then, that would mean… a way home! Breaking into a sprint with a surge of renewed energy, he cleared the distance within a few seconds. He burst into the clearing just to see the one of strangest things he'd ever have the chance of seeing.

Staggering like newborn deer, two human-looking… things rose from the ground. He could tell that they weren't human just by looking at them. Their glowing red eyes, and rotting skin was enough visual evidence. And by extending the very limited magical sense that he gained through experience, he could feel the unnatural energy powering the humanoids. It was just, dark.

But they weren't what he was there for. He looked up to find the light that brought him to this chaotic and strange world.

Only it wasn't the same one.

The one he first encountered was just a really big light that shined as bright as a miniature sun. This one looked like a crystalline eye with odd patterns surrounding it. It was a lie.

Whatever hope that had grown was dashed away that instant.

By that time all the rage that had been building up since his arrival surged forward. And he had just the perfect thing to vent it on.

Two perfect things in fact. And they were shambling away to some unknown location.

To hell with caution. He was pissed.

If he wasn't sure it wouldn't happen, he'd have thought his _own_ eyes were glowing red.

* * *

Chrom and Lissa had both managed to survive the earthquake and escape from the forest fire that had followed right behind it, and were now cautiously watching the two figures that had fallen from some sort of giant eye.

One of the things somehow managed to stand back up, popping every single vertebrae on the way. Like a puppet it took a single awkward step forward, it's companion a literal step behind it. Then the creatures spotted the royal duo and stared at them with their red unblinking eyes.

"Chrom…" Lissa said, unease creeping into her normally cheerful voice. The princess began backing away from the disturbing things.

"Stay behind me Lissa." Chrom ordered, pulling out his Falchion. He kept a watchful eye on as he moved with his sister away from the two. It almost seemed like they would get away without incident until the creatures decided that it was time to strike.

They took one last staggering step forward before they began running at an unexpected speed.

Chrom prepared to meet the charge, shifting his sword into a defensive stance.

The running corpses had cleared half of the distance between them before they were ambushed.

Leading in with an animalistic roar that froze the royal siblings in their tracks, the first moving body was tackled to the ground by a dark blur emerging from the tree line. Now illuminated by the moonlight and the nearby fires raging in the forest, Lissa could make out that the newcomer was definitely not human.

A large maw filled with many bone breaking teeth were clamping firmly down on the torso of the now struggling humanoid. Pinning it down were two long and powerful arms that lead to vaguely human-like hands if you didn't consider the claws. Releasing it's victim for a short moment Lissa could see the shape of the head resembled that of a wolf's, its pointed ears were slicked against the top of its head.

The wolf-like creature bit down again onto the other creature, crushing its head between powerful jaws. A purple mist launched into the air and the corpse fell lifelessly to the ground.

There was a quick hiss of metal travelling through the air as the second creature swung its axe, either avenging its fallen comrade or just because that was the only thing it could do. The axe buried itself into the back of the wolf creature, an attack that would be devastating to any fighter. And while it let out a short snarl of pain, it didn't at all affected.

With a low growl it rose to its full height, easily taller than the other now that it was standing on its hind legs as easily as a human would.

Lissa vaguely heard someone shouting in the distance, but was transfixed by the sight.

In the light of the forest fire the beast's eyes glowed a dangerous yellow.

The shouting was getting louder. She could feel Chrom shaking her to get her attention.

A roar of challenge echoed through the forest and the taller beast tackled the smaller humanoid, sending the two rolling out of sight.

"Lissa!" Chrom's voice finally registered to the princess.

Tearing her gaze from where the the two unknown creatures were fighting, Lissa looked up into the worried eyes of her brother.

"Oh Gods Chrom," she said weakly. "What were those?"

Chrom visibly struggled to come up with an answer, before he settled on a simple, "Trouble." With that he took his sister's hand and pulled her in opposite direction of where the two creatures were finishing their fight. He didn't want to be near either of them when it was over. "Let's go find Frederick and Robin."

The siblings had been too occupied with the sudden appearance of the wolf-beast — known as the fabled werewolf in another world— to notice the other figure that had jumped out of the crystal portal.

* * *

'These things must not feel pain or somethin'.'

It didn't matter how many times he clawed at the abomination of life, aside from leaking more of the purple magic that energized it, it just kept on going. Having already lost the axe it held it resorted to try to claw and bite its way through his thick hide.

Using the same method that was used to take out the previous one, he pinned his weakened foe to the ground and bit down on its head.

With a crunch the body ceased moving.

Tired and now wounded the werewolf was in dire need of sleep. His anger left him along with most of his energy. And he refused to eat the magical puppet, the energies that powered it rang just about every alarm in his head.

The sound of a twig snapping alerted him to a new presence, causing him to growl warningly.

"It's okay," a soothing voice said as a human stepped into his line of sight, hands held out in a placating manner. "I'm not going to hurt you." Clad in blue cloth the human slowly approached him. An odd thing covering its face.

If anything the growls grew louder. The sight of a human approaching him in his current state was making him antsy. And its weapon, while it wasn't like that of the puppets', it radiated a power that he had never experienced before.

Warily watching the human —a female from what he could smell— he slowly tried turning away and escaping. But nearly collapsed onto the ground when took his first step, he then realized that nearly all feeling in his right arm was gone.

The puppet must have gotten in a better shot than he realized.

"There will be more of them," the female warned. "But there is another group of humans nearby, that will protect you as long as you don't harm them."

Why was she talking to him? It wasn't as if she knew he could understa—

"I know you can understand what I'm saying.

Please, Faolan, listen to me."

The beast froze in nearly all functions. That name, he'd never heard that name in many winters. How could this human know it? Faolan turned to face her, but she was gone. Straining his senses could pick up her nearly silent footsteps as they headed deeper into the forest.

He could also hear the faint sounds of fighting not too far from where he lay.

'The other humans.' He thought. Suddenly he knew what to do.

Gathering every last remaining bit of strength he had left, the werewolf pushed himself onto all fours and headed in the direction of the fighting. He knew he was running on fumes now, but he had to move. He could hear other things moving around in the forest. More puppets.

And they were heading straight for him.

* * *

Robin stared at the weird-looking things shambling in the forest for a few seconds before hesitantly asking Chrom: "A-are those normal here?"

"They're not from Ylisse, I'll tell you that." He responded immediately. More portals had appeared when he and Lissa were looking for the tactician and their retainer, Frederick. And with them came more of the unnatural creatures.

Frederick had crashed through the forest plants on his horse, calling out for them frantically. Robin arrived a few moments later, panting tiredly from trying to keep up with the knight as best as she could.

Now they were getting ready to confront the things.

"I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if these things attacked a nearby village." Frederick had said after making sure his two charges were unharmed.

Robin looked to Lissa. "And you said there was something else out there that you don't know about?"

"Mhm." She confirmed with a nod of her head, now almost at her normal energetic self after experiencing the earthquake and running away from a forest fire. "It was fighting the other things!"

"Right…" That definitely seemed odd, even for the amnesiac.

"It's true." Chrom added. "It just jumped out at them and started attacking."

Robin was about to question the two more on the mysterious creature when an impatient Frederick interrupted.

"We should deal with the immediate problem first."

"Right, of course." Multiple creepy moving things to take care of.

And so the small group of Shepherds engaged the new threat. They moved around the clearings in the forest, using the light from the dying forest fire to help guide them. Chrom and Frederick were to lead in first, being the most physically adept out of the group of four, while Robin and Lissa stayed further behind. With Robin using her range to her advantage. It was easy at first, picking out the more isolated creatures as per Robin's suggestions, but the noise made from doing so quickly attracted larger numbers to them.

Quickly firing off electricity from her tome, Robin pulled away from a sword strike meant for her head. Swapping the tome for her blade she leapt back into the battle. She flicked a telegraphed swipe at her head away and burrowed her sword into its chest.

But when it didn't fall to the ground or slump over like the others did she grew worried.

"Graagh." The thing moaned as it clawed at her.

Faced with no other choice she abandoned her weapon and fell to the ground, but not before receiving a gash on her arm. Clutching at her arm and hissing in pain Robin watched as the monster advanced. Her blade, while not killing it, appeared to have at least slowed it down. With its movements becoming sluggish as its life energy flowed freely from the wound.

Yet it still moved towards her.

Before she could reach inside her cloak for her tome a voice called out.

"Back off ya freak!"

The creature's head was suddenly impaled by a lance and got sent flying from the wounded Robin. Slamming into a tree it collapsed bonelessly to the ground.

The tactician looked to her saviour, to find a red-headed woman staring curiously at her. With her hair slightly spiked and armor the same colour to match it, the rider gave off an intimidating look. Though that could be from the irritation easily seen on her face.

"Uh t-thank y—"

"Truly a masterful display of strength my dear Sully." A second voice interrupted, causing said rider's to suddenly scowl in annoyance.

"Oh you can't be serious…" Sully muttered.

Turning to the direction the voice came from, Robin spotted a man running up to them. Clad in elaborate clothing and judging by the accent she heard earlier, she classed the newcomer as a noble. But upon further inspection she noticed that he also carried a bow and its accompanying quiver. So also an archer.

"And to save a maiden in the process, magnificent!" The fancy archer said upon spotting Robin.

When he saw the wound on her arm he frowned suddenly. "Such a nasty wound un befitting of one as lovely as you." He tutted. Ignoring a comment from Sully, something about ruffles and a "can't believe this creep followed me all the way here", he bowed with a flourish. "I am Virion." He greeted. "But you may know of me through other titles, such as the Archest of Archers and—"

"She gets it Ruffles."

"Er," Robin finally cut in, wincing as her pain flared, "it's nice to meet you, but I should go to Lissa and get this healed."

"No need," Virion said, accompanied by Sully's question of "Lissa's here?" With a flick of his wrist a blue vile appeared in his hand, which he then offered to Robin. "An elixir, to heal your wounds."

Robin hesitantly took the elixir from the archer, and looked to Sully for her opinion, not exactly sure if she should drink it or not. When the cavalier nodded in impatience from not having her question answered, she uncorked the vial and took a gulp. It tasted somewhat sweet. Not like the vulneraries she drank during the bandit raid in Southtown. Immediately the pain coming from her arm ceased.

"Wow, thanks Virion." Handing the vial back she looked at where her arm had been damaged, along with some of her cloak. It was as good as new. As if she only accidentally ripped her coat.

"Now can ya answer my question?" Sully groused.

"Yes, Lissa's here. Actually she was right beside me when those two… things… attacked…" Robin trailed off as a sense of dread set in. Lissa had been next to her. They must have been separated when they were attacked. But that meant she was vulnerable to atta—

A scream shot through the forest.

"Oh no."

* * *

Lissa watched in fear as more of those red-eyed monsters cornered her to a large rock.

Earlier she had been with Robin as they went through the forest, clearing out the monsters Chrom and Frederick missed on their rampage. She'd been cut-off from the amnesiac when a second group of monsters burst out of the darkness. She yelled at Robin in an attempt to get her attention, but she must not have heard her, being too caught up in her own fight to notice.

With no other option to choose from Lissa ran.

Through the forest where she could hear the monsters' attempts to chase her.

Until they finally cornered her. The princess berated herself for getting herself trapped, and wished for Chrom, Frederick or even Robin to come save her. Despite just meeting her just recently, Lissa could tell the amnesiac held no ill intentions to her or her brother. And after Southtown she could tell that Robin would fit right in with the rest of the Shepherds.

If they lived through this.

She shut her eyes tightly as the closest of the monsters raised its axe and screamed.

There was a loud snarl, the impact of metal striking flesh, and the sound of bodies tumbling to the forest floor. A brief scuffle was also heard, followed by a strangled moan before a crunch silenced it.

Now growing curious as to why nothing happened to her, Lissa cracked open her eyes to see what was happening.

Crouched over the dead body of the red-eyed monster was the same wolf-like creature she saw earlier. It growled warningly at the others as it stood in front of her. With a better chance to observe the animal, Lissa quickly noticed that it had taken more damage from when she last saw it. Now it was heavily leaning on one of its front legs and bleeding freely from the many deep gashes on its back. Breathing coming in and out in laboured rasps it was clear the beast was close to falling.

That was when a shocking possibility came to Lissa's mind.

What if it was protecting her?

Then whether not hearing the warning growls or just not caring in general, the monsters started approaching again.

* * *

Faolan stood his ground against the puppets as they closed in, guarding the young human from any harm. He figured the humans that accompanied the young one would be more willing to help him if he protected one of their own. That and the things seemed to pose a bigger threat to the both of them at that moment than each other.

Two of them charged forward, weapons raised and ready to strike. Faolan swiped with his good arm, destroying the handle of one of the weapons but receiving a slash in return. With a ragged cry he backed off, his growling returning tenfold.

Soon he too pressed against the rock, right beside the young female. He paid her no mind, his brain desperately going through every option he had left. Faced with none he went silent as a switch flicked in his mind.

Ever wondered why a cornered animal is the most dangerous animal?

It's because by then they have nothing else to lose.

With a feral roar that made the human cover her ears Faolan threw himself at the closest enemy, forgoing any sense of caution for killing as many of them as he could before he went down.

Using his limp arm as a blunt weapon he clubbed one away while biting another by the shoulder. He then flung it to a nearby puppet with enough force to kill both of them. Within the next second he was atop another and crunching down on its head. Rising up on his hind legs he roared in challenge.

A searing pain lanced threw him when a blast of fire struck him from the side. And just like that, he collapsed to the floor, his energy completely leaving him as the fire extinguished itself.

His vision beginning to fail him, Faolan saw a puppet wielding a magical tome.

'I hate magic...'

The last thing he saw before his conscience departed was a yellow flash followed by snow white.

* * *

Robin found Lissa the moment a blast of fire impacted a different creature than the ones the Shepherds had been fighting. She heard the roar not too long ago and had feared for the princess' life. But aside from looking shocked Lissa was unharmed.

Thank the gods for that.

Sully —who was also a Shepherd as she had learned— arrived a few seconds later, having a harder time manoeuvring through the forest. Virion was close behind, impressive considering that he got kicked in the gut when he tried getting a ride from Sully.

Without a moments hesitation Robin pulled out her tome and fired lightning at the mage wielding the fire tome, catching it by surprise. Sully saw the situation and also attacked. Eager to prove himself as the Archest of Archers, Virion took aim and let loose expertly aimed arrow after expertly aimed arrow.

Using the cover fire from Virion to her advantage, Robin ran to Lissa.

"Lissa! What happened?" She questioned.

"It…" Lissa whispered, pointing to the now collapsed body of the unknown beast. "It was protecting me. They surrounded me yet it still did." The shock in her voice was mingled with a small sense of amazement. Without another word the princess ran to the downed beast, leaving a confused Robin behind.

At that point Chrom and Frederick arrived, the former riding on the latter's horse as they burst into the clearing. Both of them calling for Lissa. Chrom spotted her first, and panicked when he saw her heading towards the wolf-thing they had encountered earlier.

"Lissa!" He yelled, jumping off the horse and running straight for her. "Get away from that thing!"

Lissa ignored her brother as she crouched down next to her unexpected protector. She could hear its ragged breathing and see its chest slightly rising and falling. 'It's not dead.' She thought in amazement. An idea suddenly came to mind and she gripped her healing staff tightly. The gem on the tip of the staff glowed brightly as she aimed it.

'I won't let you die.'

Chrom reached Lissa in time to see her healing staff activate. Frederick had lagged behind due to the battle going on around them, but was bound to arrive sooner or later. Ready to scold his sister for not listening to orders, Chrom opened his mouth to begin.

"Gods damn it work!"

Only for his words to leave him as he gaped at how his sister showed genuine signs of frustration. Not the little tantrums she had been throwing before they had set up camp for the night.

Concentrating intensely on her staff Lissa's anger grew at just how slowly the beast's wounds were healing. Normally the healing magic would wash over and into the wound, reconstructing bones, muscles, and skin to the best of its ability. But instead the magic was acting as if it was getting resisted.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Chrom asked after regaining his wits. He glanced quickly around him, noticing that the battle was nearly over, and turned back to his sister expectantly.

"It saved her life apparently," Robin said, walking to the surprised prince while watching Lissa curiously. "Protected her when she was surrounded by those things. I guess she wants to return the favour." She turned and watched as Frederick punched a hole straight through the last of the monsters with his silver lance.

"I see…" Confused yet curious Chrom also watched Lissa intently, but ready to move in case it attacked. He absently waved at Sully when she greeted him, and paid Virion's exaggerated introduction no attention.

A full minute from when she first began passed by the time the glow of her staff dimmed. Sweating lightly Lissa stood up and smiled tiredly at her handiwork.

"There. That'll make sure you live."

"Which might not be such a good idea Milady." Jumping at the voice Lissa saw Frederick frowning down at the beast. He held his lance with purpose.

"Why not? It saved my life Frederick!" The royal retainer sighed at her innocence.

"Milady even if it has done such a thing, it doesn't mean that it will do so again. From its looks alone I can guess that it's a sort of wolf." He gestured to the comatose figure. "Wolves attack livestock, and farmers when they try to keep them away. Imagine the damage this wolf creature could cause if left free to roam these lands." Frederick shook his head and sighed again.

"While I am grateful that you are safe because of it, I think that it would be best to put it down before it awakes."

"Frederick!?" Lissa cried in disbelief.

"He's right Lissa." Chrom admitted.

"You too!?"

"It'll be quick Lissa, I promise. Now please stand aside." He unsheathed his Falchion and waited for Lissa to do as told.

The princess looked to the observers for any support. Sully looked indifferent to the situation. Virion was nervously looking off to the side, unsure of what to do. And Robin looked apologetically at Lissa, obviously wanting to help, but she wasn't moving to interfere.

Lissa felt tears well up, but she still stood her ground. It saved her life and so she was going to do the same. "I won't let you."

Frederick's eyes softened for a moment, before the warmth disappeared behind an armor of steel.

"Very well."

He took one step before the beast rose from its sleep.

* * *

Faolan awoke to someone yelling. His eyes opened to a blurry world. Next his nose picked up a familiar scent.

Humans.

The last few hours rushed to his mind, bombarding him with memories almost painfully. Injured. He'd been injured. Badly. So why didn't he feel any pain? His memories were telling him that he couldn't move one of his arms yet his nerves were telling him otherwise. He knew he healed quickly but it wasn't that fast.

'Weird.'

The talking continued and he strained to listen in.

"…it…best to put it down…" One voice, a male, said.

"Frederick!?" A second cried out, this time a female.

"He's right Lissa." Another male joined in.

"You too!?"

The words "put it down" and the solemn way it was said raised alarms in Faolan's mind. Desperately he tried to force himself onto his legs, but found them slowly responding to his commands. The conversation continued until he managed to more or less gain full control of his limbs.

With a final mental order he staggered onto all fours. He glanced around quickly, observing the shocked looks on all of the human's faces. He noticed the weapons currently drawn and figured he was the target. Looking down he saw the young female that he protected earlier. It appeared that she had done the same thing he had and defended him while he was vulnerable.

"Lissa get away from it!" The blue haired male that had spoken earlier said.

Faolan looked at the blade the male held, it felt familiar to the one he saw the female using. His eyes lingered to the silver weapon the other male held.

'Time to leave.'

He looked down to the small human in front of him and gave a small, almost unnoticeable, nod of thanks, before he turned and ran into the forest.

The Shepherds —plus Virion— found that it would be better to leave the wolf beast alone in favour of going to Ylisstol to see if the earthquake had any effect on the city. And so it was a happy Lissa, who was still mad at both her brother and Frederick, that walked out of the forest with a spring in her step.

Robin had slowed to match her pace and apologized for not coming to her support. But she had waved it off and said that it was all fine.

She still had her surprise for Robin for when they got back to Ylisse to make up for that.

Maybe a frog or two as well. But those were mostly reserved for Chrom and Frederick.

She stopped when she felt something watching her from the forest. Turning around her eyes landed on two glowing orbs staring right back at her. But these weren't the frightening red ones that belonged to the monsters that attacked her.

They were amber. The colour of the eyes belonging to the beast that had saved her.

She smiled in the direction of those eyes, then turned around and continued on the path to Ylisstol.

Robin stared curiously at Lissa, before turning her own gaze to the forest. Seeing nothing there she shrugged and followed.

A single howl accompanied the group of Shepherds on their way. A sad sound that made them pause as to why they thought that. It occurred to them later on that wolves normally travelled in packs. Yet this one was all by itself.

Of course none of the Shepherds knew that the werewolf had just met it's future pack.

* * *

 **AN: This was an idea formed alongside my other series (The Other Way) and I've finally gotten around to writing it. And since I was having a hard time writing the new chapter for that series I decided to make this one.  
**

 **Like the title says this story is a one shot. But that doesn't mean it can't be a series. I'd like some feedback on this sole chapter, criticisms, complements, what I could do better and what you liked about it. I'm already playing around with some ideas for if it continues, but I'd like to make sure people are interested enough to read it.**

 **As for possible pairing (as in if it continues) it was originally supposed to be Robin, hence why there was a female Robin instead of the male one, but I see one with Lissa as well, so that's also up in the air.**

 **Oh, and if another chapter is needed for the final decision, I'll make one up as fast as possible.**

 **Until then.**


	2. Chapter 2

Weeks had passed since Faolan's arrival in Ylisse. The werewolf had made the forest he last met the humans in his home. It wasn't the most comfortable place like his last one, with the fire that had ravaged half of the forest, but it was a start. There was a decent supply of food, and nearby rivers carried fresh water and the occasional batch of fish. But maintaining his newfound territory was steadily getting more and more difficult with time.

Some nights more of those false-portals would appear. Spitting out large numbers of those puppets. But since he wasn't dead tired at the times they appeared, now that he had actually gotten time to rest, he handled the threat with ease.

The problem was that they were getting stronger each time a new portal opened. They would react faster, take more hits before they went down. Working together instead of aimlessly attacking him. Even getting better quality weapons and armour with each wave.

Sometimes the damn things would even carry silver weapons.

How do they even get that!?

The fact that some could use magic didn't help at all.

It didn't hurt him as much as silver did, not even close. But the different types they used threw him off guard. The time when he got struck by magical lightning stood out to him the most.

His tail was _still_ twitching occasionally because of it…

To make it worse was the occasional band of humans. Dressed in animal furs and lesser quality armor, these humans would often travel through the woods and attack other human territory. They were easy to scare off, but like the puppets they often came back with larger numbers.

The first few times they laid eyes on him as he attacked them they shouted something about a "Taguel." Faolan wasn't sure what a taguel was, but the name didn't seem to fit. He'd been called many names the times when he was discovered by humans; monster, beast, werewolf, wolfskin(1), I-must-be drunk-right-now —that time was… particularly confusing—, and a few more. However the word Taguel seemed like it was directed to something different altogether, which drew his curiosity.

Perhaps they were a large type of animal that roamed these land similar to him, but the confident way the humans were talking when they mentioned the species left him to think that they were used to hunting them…

But that's besides the point. He was losing ground faster than he was comfortable with and was considering that he look for a new home somewhere else.

Wandering a little outside the safety of the forest, Faolan was trying to find out which direction he should set off in. He knew there was a human settlement South of the forest, and the group of humans he first encountered went East, to their home he guessed. He didn't want to travel in human land, so that left North or West as his best options.

Choices, choices…

Faolan absently grabbed a nearby fallen leaf and flung it into the air. He'd seen humans do this with their coins when they were making decisions, and had done so on a whim. Back when he was still a pup and his mother took him to human villages. And in _that_ form at the time.

'North is darker side, West is lighter side.'

The leaf danced in the air, twisting and turning as it made its slow descent. Faolan watched it with a growing sense of curiosity, feeling as if the outcome of this leaf-toss would change the way he lived forever. Almost as much as the light that brought him here did.

With its performance in the air finished, the leaf landed softly on the ground.

Darker-side up.

'North it is.'

And so he headed North, unknowingly widening the gap between himself and Plegia and instead heading in the direction of Regna Ferox.

It was a few hours after he left the forest when he stopped. Faolan absently flicked aside a pebble in his way, eyes focused ahead of him and ears listening for any sound that might alert him to any threats. Traveling by day on a flat stretch of land was normally more dangerous than traveling in the night. But he was more willing to chance the possibility of being spotted by humans than he was fighting another group of puppets.

But it was boring.

The werewolf sighed as much as a werewolf could. After many days and nights of battles, where his blood pumped quickly and the adrenaline rush get him going, of course it would. But it wouldn't do to act like some six year old pup.

That was below him now.

After some more walking he decided to take a nap. Lying down on the grass Faolan closed his eyes. He knew now that resting in between long distances was more important in this world than in his. And he didn't want a repeat of his first night here.

The sun's heat coupled with the relaxing breeze made him drowsy enough to almost fall asleep. And he would have done so if he hadn't heard something.

It was faint. A steady beat that rode the wind. His eyes trailed to the sky, squinting heavily from the sunlight. In the distance he could see a shape moving along the sky, blending in with the clouds. But his rapidly adjusting eyes could spot a speck of red among the white.

He grew curious about the odd flying thing. It wasn't a bird—he was sure of that. Even _his_ eyes wouldn't be able to spot one from this distance. So it had to be bigger. Much bigger.

His curiosity got the better of him yet again, and he was quickly up on all fours and after the mysterious flyer. Like a cat to a butterfly, he chased it.

So focused on following the flyer he didn't notice the other dark shapes in the sky behind him.

* * *

Werewolf in Ylisse - Chapter Two

* * *

Faolan chased for a good half hour, matching the flyer's speed just enough to keep it within his line of sight. Absently he noticed the land below him changing as time passed; grass being replaced by dry dirt and the air thinning subtly as the altitude climbed. It wasn't until he reached a dead end of rocks did he realize that he'd gone to a mountain-like landscape.

Shrugging indifferently, he scaled the rocks with ease. It wasn't hard after having done so a few times already in his original home. Within a few seconds he was scrambling over the top of the cliff and searching for his source of curiosity.

Only he couldn't find it anymore.

Instead he was face to face with something else.

It was scaly, like the fish he sometimes ate from rivers. Only, it wasn't a fish.

Fish didn't have wings.

Or lots of teeth.

Or humans riding them.

"The 'ell's this?" The human riding the scaled monstrosity questioned, leaning over the side of his mount to get a better look.

Faolan, the Plegian, and the wyvern had a three-way staring contest when their eyes met.

The human blinked first. "Oh shi—"

The wyvern followed next and immediately snapped its jaw at Faolan, instincts telling it that the new creature was a threat. Faolan was the last to break out of his daze and he threw himself out of the wyvern's path. Snarling angrily he clawed at its outstretched neck.

The attack drew blood, and the wyvern began beating its wings and launched itself into the air. The Plegian rider could do nothing as he tried in vain to regain control of his mount. Desperately the human called for help from any nearby comrades.

Not about to let his enemy get away, the werewolf leapt into the air, grabbing onto the scaled leg of the wyvern. Both rider and mount became distressed with the extra weight that had suddenly latched on. The three of them tumbled awkwardly through the air, a mixture of growls, hissing and cries for help alerting anything nearby about their presence.

Unused to the motions of flying, Faolan's vision became a mess as the world blurred in front of him. He blindly clung to whatever he could get a hold of. Which in this case was the Plegian's leg. With his teeth.

"AHHH! IT'S BITING ME!"

The rider let go of the reigns, giving the wyvern free control over its course. The scaled beast beat its wings wildly and veered heavily to the right in an attempt to throw everything off it.

The plan half worked, and the rider tumbled off and into a fatal free fall. Faolan on the other hand, dug in deep with his claws, successfully anchoring himself to the wyvern. The feeling of several small hooks piercing its scales and into the softer skin behind it was an agonizing experience, causing the wyvern to screech in pain. Suddenly it tipped forward, sending them tumbling down a nearby cliff. The nauseating feeling from flying Faolan had been experiencing intensified with how the two were rolling downhill. He was only slightly grateful that it wasn't just a straight drop to the ground.

It was during some point on his journey down the cliff side when Faolan could hear shouting and the clanging of metal. The words were unrecognizable to the werewolf because of his current dizzy state, but he could guess that there was a battle going on where he was.

The both of them landed on the floor in an explosion of dust and debris. Faolan remained on the ground and groaned weakly, the air having been knocked out of him. The wyvern also didn't move, but that might have been because its neck was bent at an unnatural angle.

"Gah!" A male voice shouted in surprise. "Somethin' took out one of our wyvern riders!"

"Issit dead?" A second questioned. Footsteps were heard getting closer to the recovering werewolf.

"Don't touch it you oaf! It could kill ya!"

Faolan could feel something pointy poking his arm.

"Me thinks it's still alive." The second voice said, his voice a lot closer now. "What issit?" He then asked.

"Dangerous," the first replied, "now get away from that thing before it gets up. We still hafta capture th' Exalt before our squadron is taken out."

"But don't we have reinforcements comin' soon?"

"I don't think that even with 'em that it'll get any easier." The first one responded grimly. "The rumours about that tactician person 're right. We had an ambush an' everythin', but we still aren't beating 'em." A sigh. "Now hurry up an' get over here. Vasto'll have our hides if we didn't get into the battle." The footsteps walked away from Faolan, leaving him to groggily rise to his feet.

It took some more time to get his bearings, but soon he was able to see in front of him without the world spinning in eight different directions.

He slowly edged his way closer to where the fighting was taking place, something within him telling him to investigate the battle. Poking his head out of a shrub he felt a strange familiarity in the battle going on in front of him.

Maybe it was the head of blue hair on one of the warriors fighting. Or maybe it was the way the human on an armoured horse used his silver lance. Something just seemed really familiar about the group of humans. He just couldn't place a claw on it…

"GROOWRR!"

His eyes snapped to the sky, finding more of the flying-not-fish and their riders descending onto him. Within seconds he was surrounded by all sides.

The wyverns remained above the ground, with their riders holding their axes readily.

"Is this the thing that some of our men have been talkin' about for the past few weeks?" One of the riders asked curiously, uncaring of the warning growls coming from the werewolf. The wyverns themselves skittered nervously in the air despite having the advantage.

"I think so." Another responded. "I guess that makes it a bundle then don't it? Taking care of the Exalt and our little pest here in one swoop."

"Then let's get to it lads." The wyvern in front of Faolan dove, the rider's axe raised and ready to strike. Faolan ducked low under the incoming swing and launched himself at the Plegian. Just before his claws could reach the human he felt something bite into his leg. A heartbeat later he was flung away by a second wyvern, and landed roughly on the dry ground.

The air rushed out of Faolan's lungs for the second time that day the moment he impacted the ground facedown, leaving him stunned and vulnerable.

"It doesn't seem so dangerous now does it?" Sneered a third human. His wyvern leaned on the prone body with a taloned foot. The human laughed as his wyvern bit into Faolan's shoulder, and a cruel grin made its way to his face with the howls of pain it caused.

The werewolf tried to retaliate against the attacks, but couldn't move enough to do anything besides snap uselessly at the air in between his howls.

"This'll finish ya off." An axe was raised to the air.

Only for a sharp blade of wind to send both rider and mount sprawling to the ground.

"See? I told you I saw something rolling down the cliff!" A male voice said proudly.

"Yes, thank you Vaike," a female voice responded distractedly, "oh my…"

"Hm? What's up Robin?" Vaike asked. "Oh sheesh, that's a lot of wyverns."

"Look at the ground Vaike."

"Oh… what's that?"

"Um… later. Go get Chrom and the others here as fast as possible."

"Uh, right, Teach'll get them. Stay safe." The sounds of footsteps faded the further away they went.

Faolan slowly turned his head to the other human who hadn't left. The snow white locks of hair ringed a few bells for the werewolf, but his attention was quickly focused on the remaining enemies surrounding the two. He pushed himself to stand, wincing internally at the pain in his shoulder, and glanced at the human that he presumed had saved him.

She held a green tome in her hand that radiated magical power. It didn't look like she had any hostile intentions towards him, and that was good enough at the moment. He would deal with her later if it came down to it.

"We can work together." Robin suggested, opening up her tome and aiming it at their enemies. Internally hoping she hadn't just isolated herself from the Shepherds so she could get herself killed.

Faolan didn't respond verbally, but inched closer to the tactician.

Robin gave a quick smile. "Take out the ones on the left, I'll cover for you." Faolan glanced at her and gave a small nod of understanding. Then the two burst into action, the werewolf taking to all fours and putting on extra speed with the tactician not too far behind. The elwind tome Robin held glowed a bright green and she aimed it at the closest rider to their target.

Faolan then reached his target. With no signs of slowing down, he impacted the underside of the wyvern with enough force to launch the rider from his saddle and down the cliff edge. Another wyvern rider had tried to intervene, but was cut off by a blade of green flying right in front of him. The Plegian backed off when he quickly realized that he was outnumbered.

Robin clicked her tongue in annoyance for missing. 'Aiming while moving isn't easy.' She reminded herself. At least they managed to get one of their targets. She caught up with the wolf-beast as it shook off its dizziness.

"Good job." She complemented. When the werewolf didn't respond, Robin began to wonder if the creature couldn't talk like Panne could, or was just more like Lon'qu where it didn't talk much at all. Or was actually just a smart animal. Yet it remained standing there, almost as if it were waiting for orders.

"Er," Robin began, suddenly aware of how closely she was being watched, "we should be able to hold these ones off until the others get here."

Faolan kept his questioning gaze on the tactician for a few more seconds, until he finally looked away. 'Why is she so familiar?' He wondered. No matter how much he tried he couldn't shake the feeling.

"Robin!" From the distance multiple figures could be seen heading in their direction. In the front of the charge was Chrom and his ever dutiful retainer Frederick. Trailing along was the newly recruited Cordelia, Lissa, and Vaike.

Faolan looked at the approaching group and came to a sudden realization of who they were. As happy as he was to see the blonde female that had protected him when he had first arrived —even though he couldn't show it— he had to be wary of the others who hadn't. With the possible exception to white-haired one beside him. She _did_ save his life just now after all.

And it seemed that some of the newcomers were also thinking along the same line.

"What is that thing?!" The red haired one cried from atop her pegasus.

"Robin? Teach doesn't think that staying close to that thing is a good idea."

"Hey!" The smallest one raised her voice. "It won't hurt you if you don't hurt it!"

"Lissa, we've been over this…"

"Milady get back here!"

"She's right guys." Robin assured her fellow Shepherds as Lissa walked to the werewolf. "It's fine. It won't hurt us."

Faolan watched curiously as the human named Lissa approached him slowly. The other humans looked on anxiously, prepared to jump to their princess' protection should she come under attack. She stopped in front of him with a big smile on her face.

"Heya! It's been a while." Much to the Shepherds' shock, the beast responded with a slow nod.

"We last saw you in the forest near Southtown. What are you doing here?"

Faolan took longer this time to answer, but when he did he pointed at Cordelia.

"M-me? What do I have to do with this?"

Lissa continued. "So did you... follow her?"

Another nod.

"How… convenient." Leave it to Frederick to suspect an animal.

"Will you help us?" Robin asked when it looked like Lissa was struggling to find easy enough questions that could be answered

by the werewolf with either a nod or shake of its head.

The beast stared into Robin's eyes, and the tactician suddenly felt like she was being tested. Like her worth was being evaluated. She stared back into those amber eyes without flinching or backing off. When the creature visibly relaxed and finally answered with a nod she sighed in relief.

"Great."

* * *

The rest of the Shepherds were surprised when they arrived back in the battle with the werewolf trailing beside them. But with Chrom's (hesitatant) assurances that an explanation would be given after the battle, they were soon focused back on the Plegians once again.

Robin had tested Faolan throughout the rest of the ambush, which had by then lost all of its momentum, to get a sense of the werewolf's capabilities. It seemed to be good at taking both physical and magical damage, but was always more focused on Frederick's lance whenever the two were near. And like displayed before at the forest, his resistance to magic extended to Lissa's healing as well.

It had good mobility too, closely matching that of the two pegasus riders in the group. But the werewolf also seemed to rely more on its strength and greater mobility than actual speed. Yet Lissa had told her that it had moved much faster when they were surrounded by Risen in the forest.

The actual battle itself had gone smoothly. With the added help and forewarning of Plegian reinforcements from Cordelia, and the wildcard that was their new ally, the Shepherds easily reached Vasto.

It wasn't until after the battle when something else happened.

"Robin!" Lissa called. "I can't find it!"

"Find what Lissa?" Robin asked.

"You know," the princess struggled to find a name, " _it_. The wolf-thing!"

"Perhaps it left." Chrom guessed. "Like it did the last time."

"But why did it just vanish?" Lissa complained. "Last time it at least said goodbye… sort of."

Footsteps sounded behind the trio, causing them to look in the direction the Plegians had come from. For a moment they feared another ambush was about happen. But that fear was replaced with confusion when a small figure stopped not too far from them.

It was a kid, he didn't look much older than Ricken did. His long and messy chestnut hair made Stahl's seem almost tame in comparison. He was dressed in old damaged clothes that gave him the look of a poor child. The expression on his young face told the trio that he was nervous of something.

 _"Now remember Faolan," his mother had told him many years ago. "It's important to thank someone when they help you."_

 _"Alright mom." He had answered_.

The kid opened his mouth to speak, yet no words came out.

He continued trying until he finally succeeded.

"Thank… you." The words sounded unsure once he had found them. Like he hadn't spoken in years and was testing them for the first time. "For… helping.. me."

He looked into Lissa's eyes, causing the princess to gasp. Robin and Chrom were also caught by surprise when they looked into those —amber-coloured— eyes. The very same ones they had seen not too long ago.

"N-no problem." Lissa stammered.

He then switched over to Robin. This time he found the words coming faster than before. "Thank.. you, too."

Robin nodded numbly, too stunned to do any other form of communication.

Finally he looked over to Chrom.

 _His mother smiled down lovingly at him, and gave him more advice before they entered the human village. "Don't forget that when you meet someone, it's also polite to give your name when you greet them."_

 _"Yes mom."_

 _"Good, now run along, my little pup. Stay safe, I'll be back soon."_

 _"_ My… name… is… Faolan. It's… nice to… meet you."

* * *

The trip back to the rest of the Shepherds was a silent one. An awkward exchange of introductions was given before the four of them set off. Faolan kept a short distance from the humans as they walked, even staying away from Lissa, who until then had possibly been the closest to the boy.

Faolan didn't like his human form. It was too weak. Too vulnerable to do anything if the humans suddenly turned on him. The only reason he hadn't run off yet was because he had a feeling that these humans were different than the rest he'd met before. When he had been fighting amongst their numbers against the humans who sought to capture their Exalt —whatever that was— they didn't seem to mind his presence. Even if most of their initial reactions was that of surprise. Despite his knowledge of how humans would normally act when near his kind. So maybe… just maybe…

He had been alone for so long, that after years of isolation, just the hope of finally being accepted was keeping his legs moving forward.

The group of four walked through the temporary camp the Shepherds set up for the time being. Which was actually just the medical tent set up a short distance from the Shepherds' convoy.

There they encountered the always protective Frederick engaged in a four way conversation between Exalt Emmeryn, the pegasus knight captain Phila, and her subordinate Cordelia. Whatever it was they were talking about didn't appear to be pleasant as all four members were frowning. Frederick looked as if he was going to say something before he caught Chrom approaching from the edge of his vision, where he instead stopped in order to greet the prince.

"Milord," Frederick said with a quick bow, "I'm glad you could join us." He also nodded to Lissa and Robin, but stopped short of doing so when he spotted the fourth member, where his frown deepened. "Who's this?"

Shifting under the gaze Faolan nervously avoided eye contact as much as possible and hid behind Robin, then berated himself for being afraid in the first place. In his beast form this human wouldn't be any more intimidating than the giant-flying-fish-things he'd fought earlier. With the exception of the silver weapon he used. But now this human appeared like a mountain in his eyes.

"Er," Chrom began, looking back to the scared child who no one would believe was the beast that had saved his younger sister from a hoard of Risen. "This is Faolan, you two have met already."

"Have we now." Frederick mused, trying and failing to recall any memories of the child. To his credit the knight had a sneaking suspicion on who this Faolan was before he found out the same way the others did. "I see, I had my guesses after meeting Panne. So, another Taguel?"

"I don't think so." Robin cut into the conversation. She gently pushed Faolan from behind her to in front, a sense of pity filling her when she felt how his shoulders were trembling. "Panne retains some of her features when she's in her human form," she then gestured to the top of Faolan's head, "like her ears."

Finally the subject they were talking about spoke up.

"I'm.. not a, Taguel." Faolan said adamantly, finding hidden reserves of his confidence so that he could finally speak up.

"Well what _are_ you then?" Lissa asked curiously. "You're clearly not human."

Flinching from how the words brought up memories from the past, Faolan remained silent.

Even Chrom, as thick headed as he was at times, caught how the words affected Faolan. "Lissa!" He admonished. "Apologize to him!"

"E-eh? Oh! I-I didn't mean to—"

"It's fine." With a shake of his head Faolan banished the memories from his mind.

"Aside from identifying your species," Frederick continued, "I must ask why you followed Milord and Milady back here."

"I," Faolan steeled himself for whatever might come next, "I want to," he struggled with finding the words.

"I want to join your pack."

Frederick blinked at the odd term used for describing the Shepherds, then let his protective (suspicious) nature take over. "While I will thank you for protecting milady Lissa back in the forest, and apologize for nearly killing you, I wouldn't let you join the Shepherds because of it."

Faolan's shoulders slumped, and his eyes fell to the ground. Of course it would turn out like this. He should have known better than to—

"However," Frederick unknowingly interrupted, his gaze turning to Chrom, "at this point I know my opinion doesn't really matter, as Milord would recruit someone he'd met on an open field without a second thought." His eyes danced in hidden amusement when Chrom chuckled nervously and Robin laughed, even if his current expression was a resigned look. "Despite the possible dangers I warned him of."

Faolan stared up at the knight in shock, and his hopes soared. When he looked to Chrom the prince was already smiling down at him.

"Well you _did_ save my sister and helped us when we were ambushed." Chrom reasoned. "I think that deserves a thanks, so welcome to the Shepherds Faolan."

Within seconds after hearing the words, Faolan could feel a burning sensation within his eyes. He hastily wiped at his unending flow of tears, unaware of the large smile that spread across his face.

"Th-thank.. you." He managed between sniffles.

'Finally,' Faolan thought, 'a group to be with.' A group he could call his pack. A group he could call… his family.

A gentle hand was placed on his shoulder once he stopped. And for a moment Faolan had a flashback to his mother. But when he looked up he saw another woman. Her blonde hair was like Lissa's, and she had the same symbol on her forehead that Chrom had on his exposed arm.

Emmeryn smiled down serenely at Faolan. "Why don't you have Lissa and Robin here show you around?" She softly suggested, looking to the two in question.

Finding it hard to disagree with the woman, Faolan nodded.

"Yeah!" Lissa agreed enthusiastically, rushing forward and taking Faolan by the hand. "C'mon Robin let's go show him around the camp!" She then proceeded to drag away the werewolf. Robin chuckled momentarily at the princess' excitement and followed at a more leisurely pace.

Chrom watched as the three left with a smile. Noticing Frederick's frown he laughed. "It'll be alright Frederick." The prince assured. "And besides, even actual shepherds have their _shepherd dogs_." He then joked, linking Faolan's beast form to the aforementioned shepherd dog.

While Frederick smiled briefly at the little joke, it was quickly replaced by the frown that was previously there. "I thank you for the assurance Milord, but that was not the cause for my mood. It's time we continue the discussion in place before you arrived." He then nodded to Cordelia, who until then had been silently watching.

"As I said before you arrived L-Lord Chrom, Ylisstol has fallen."

Faolan's little tour of the Shepherd's camp and introduction to its members was an interesting experience for the werewolf. With Lissa dragging him around everywhere it would have been hard _not_ to pick up on her enthusiasm, and so for a short while he felt like a pup once again.

The first introduction, however, came from Lissa herself. Where she explained how she was the princess of a land called Ylisse, and the younger sister to the blue haired male that let him join the pack called Chrom, who was a prince. She also told him that their older sister Emmeryn was the ruler and Exalt of Ylisse.

Faolan in all honesty had no idea what a prince, princess, or Exalt were, but haphazardly guessed that it meant that they were the alphas of a really _really_ large pack.

The next to properly introduce herself was Robin, who actually had very little to say about other than her current occupation in the Shepherds and how she was found in a field without any memories. Amnesia, Lissa had called it.

He personally didn't really think that this 'amnesia' was that much of a problem.

There were memories he would have preferred forgotten anyway.

His meetings with each of the Shepherds were all notable to him. From how Kellam managed to sneak up on them despite his honed senses, to how Ricken threw off his large hat into the air and thanked the gods that he wasn't the only child in the Shepherds.

Faolan wasn't looking forward to when _that_ was revealed to not be the truth.

The next had been the short meeting between the them and Lon'qu. The Feroxian warrior took one look at him, huffed, and went back to his own business.

Lissa apparently hadn't liked how quickly they were dismissed, and chased Lon'qu around trying to poke him.

The power of these 'pokes' were not to be messed with, Faolan had concluded. They had to be extremely powerful if they had the stronger looking Lon'qu running frantically from the smaller Lissa.

Then they ran into Panne.

The Taguel had actually been the one to approach them.

"Man-spawns, you realize that you don't walk with one of your kind yes?"

Robin winced internally. Panne was still on the edge with the rest of the Shepherds, despite being part of the group. She wanted to get to know the taguel better, but with having to escort the Exalt to the eastern palace and the most recent attack, finding time to do so was difficult.

Unlike before where Faolan withdrew into himself at the comment regarding his species, this time he didn't even seem to notice it, being too busy staring at Panne. He took a step towards the Taguel, closed his eyes, and sniffed the air(2).

To Robin's and Lissa's utter shock, Panne's faces took on the lightest shade of red.

Crossing her arms and banishing her light blush, Panne narrowed her gaze. "What is it you want, Pup?"

Faolan opened his eyes to reveal the wonder and amazement he was feeling. "You're like me." He finally breathed out. Her appearance was obviously different, but her scent wasn't like the other humans' either. It seemed, with her 'pup' comment, that she also figured out that he was a different species than what her hare-like appearance gave off.

"We found Faolan here not too long ago." Robin managed to explain, getting over the shock of seeing Panne momentarily lose her cold persona. "He's just joined the Shepherds after he helped us fight off the ambush."

"I see." Looking at Faolan, who was still staring at her in wondrous disbelief, Panne smiled. It was a small one admittedly, but a smile nonetheless. "And here I thought I was the last of my kind." The last of the Taguel admitted to the werewolf. "In any case, welcome to the Shepherds Faolan, I am Panne."

With a bright smile Faolan looked up to Panne. "Heya Panne, nice to meetcha!"

All in all, Faolan could tell that he was going to like his new pack. His new family.

* * *

 **AN: Welp, it's happening. My second series begins —even though I haven't finished the first one... Sorry T.O.W. readers...  
My apologies for the slow update, which was partly due to my laziness and school. **

**So, Faolan. I think I gave enough hints for people to get the gist of him, but I'll explain a little about him for those who didn't quite get it.**

 **Faolan (no last name) has the human appearance of a young child, about Ricken's age. With unkempt dark brown hair. In werewolf form the dark brown becomes nearly black. Faolan is hinted at being alone for many years, and since it is in a wolf's nature (in this case, werewolf's) to be a part of a pack, he leaps at the first chance to become join one. He'll become extremely loyal and protective of his new family over time.**

 **Not too much of course, but I don't want to spoil things.**

 **Anyways, thanks to those who wanted this to become an actual series, I hope you'll look forward to more future updates later on. If there are any mistakes you see, please feel free to point them out either through reviews or PMs. Until then.**

 **In reference to the numbers throughout the chapter:**

 **1) Yes I put that there, no it means absolutely nothing plot-wise. I just couldn't resist.  
** **2) This should be common knowledge by now, but animals can learn a lot about each other by scent. And Panne reacted the way she did because it would be embarrassing to be suddenly sniffed by a stranger, even if it's a child.**

* * *

Preview for next chapter:

 _It was some time after when a question popped into Lissa's mind._

 _"Hey Faolan."_

 _"Hm?"_

 _"How do you transform anyway? You don't look like you have a beaststone on you."_

 _"Beast…stone?"_

 _"It is a stone that we Taguel use to activate our transformation, Pup. Do you not have one?"_

 _"I uh…_ transform _in a different way."_

 _"Really? Show us!"_

 _"I dunno Lissa, people don't usually react well after seeing me shift."_

 _"You can borrow mine if you're uncomfortable Pup. Just don't damage it."_

 _"R-really? Thanks Panne. Woah, this thing's making me feel, weird. H-how do I use it?"_

 _"Just focus on your beast-side while keeping hold of the beaststone."_

 _"I… I think I'm getting i—"_

 ** _*KABOOM*_**


End file.
